Recap: San Jose vs. Vancouver

San Jose, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - Chris Higgins posted a goal and an assist as the Vancouver Canucks took a 4-2 win over the San Jose Sharks on Thursday.

Zack Kassian, Brad Richardson and Mike Santorelli all lit the lamp for the Canucks, who have won six of their last eight games. Roberto Luongo made 22 stops in the win.

"No matter what happens in the game, we've been resilient as far as staying focused," Luongo said. "Just sticking to the game plan. Lots of things have happened already this year, but we've responded every time. That's a really good sign for our team."

Mike Brown and Joe Thornton scored for the Sharks, who have dropped four straight games. Antti Niemi gave up all four goals on 13 shots before being pulled early in the second period. Alex Stalock stopped all 21 shots he faced in relief.

"I don't think we played very well in the first or second, and we just couldn't catch up in the third," said Thornton. "We're too talented to be losing games like this."

Both teams scored on their first shot as Thornton got the Sharks on the board just 1:17 in as he dumped the puck behind the net from the left boards and it hopped over the top of the net, with Luongo knocking it in as he tried to glove the puck.

Just three minutes later, Vancouver got the goal back as Richardson scored on a turnaround shot from the right post that snuck past Niemi.

The Canucks then took a 2-1 lead at 9:25 of the first as a quick shot on net from Higgins at the low left side saw the rebound come out front and Santorelli bang it in.

The Sharks tied the game 1:20 later. James Sheppard got behind the defense to create a 2-on-0. Brown scored on a one-timer for his first of the season.

Vancouver, though, took a 3-2 lead into the second period as a weak cross-ice pass by a Shark saw Alex Burrows push the puck behind the defense and Higgins fire it home with 1:05 left in the first stanza.

Just 5:22 into the second, the Canucks made it a 4-2 game as a hard shot by Kevin Bieksa at the right point went off of Kassian in front of the net.

Luongo made five saves in the second then stopped 13 in the third to make the lead stand up.

Game Notes

Vancouver plays in Los Angeles on Saturday ... San Jose starts a five-game
road trip in Winnipeg on Sunday ... Both teams went 0-for-3 on the power play
... The Sharks had won five straight against the Canucks coming into the game.

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